


2010

by cara797



Series: A Traveller's Home [2]
Category: Glue (TV), e4Glue
Genre: Fluff, M/M, omg, so excited about tonight's finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-03
Updated: 2014-11-22
Packaged: 2018-02-22 04:27:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2494409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cara797/pseuds/cara797
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eli's riding classes are expensive and there's not enough money for new clothes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. February

**Author's Note:**

> _A TRAVELLER'S HOME_ series:
> 
>   * Part 1: [2009](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2469122/chapters/5475536)
> 

> 
> ♦ Part 2: 2010
> 
>   * Part 3: [2011](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2685392/chapters/6007493)
>   * Part 4: 2012
>   * Part 5: 2013
>   * Part 6: 2014
> 

> 
> A big thank you to my great beta for helping me make sense of this chapter!

At first James hadn't thought anything of it.

So what if Cal always wore the same huge stained jacket and the same patched trousers? Maybe he just really liked them, or maybe it was a gypsy thing, since Eli was the same, too. Always wearing one of those humongous shirts from the eighties with an unbelievable duck pattern that could have easily been his father's. He sometimes sneaked clothes out of the stables but that was nothing new. Everyone always took some of the ugly working clothes home so to not have to use the changing room at the stables which lacked any kind of heating system. However, it started to get weird when Eli got a hoodie for Cal and one of the beanies that jockeys wear beneath their helmets in winter.

James thought he was the only one who had noticed but someone else mentioned it one late Sunday afternoon. Everyone had gathered in Annie's room. The cheerful pop music blasting and the bright pink and orange paint on the walls doing nothing to pick up the sluggish mood filling the room. Outside it was raining, had been for hours and it was too hot in there - even though Eli and Cal refused to take their coats off. James found it difficult to breathe properly, as if he could only inhale so shallowly that his chest barely moved because if he took a great gulp of air in at once, his lungs would ache.

They were all lying on top of Annie's neon green, ruffled duvet that had been spread out in the floor so they could all sit in a circle after they decided to play Ouija out of sheer boredom, and to James' dismay. Thankfully, it hadn't gone on too long after Ruth (who had started to come along as well, never mind that she and the Bray brothers couldn't exchange a look without hissing at each other like three alley cats), had claimed that it was Annie moving the wooden piece around and had started an argument with her when she denied it. But that had also gradually died down and they all had sunk again in a quiet haze.

Breaking the lazy silence and startling everyone out of their thoughts, Rob asked the two traveller siblings with a blunt voice and blasé eyes why they were stealing stuff from the stables. Tina immediately stepped in and told him to mind his own business and then she sent Eli a pointed look. On the opposite side of the room, James, who had watched the scene unfolding before him, hadn't missed the way Cal eyed his older brother and Tin Tin curiously. 

Rob shrugged, as if he hadn't meant his words to be malicious, but had just wanted something to say. James was about to laugh at him, his inability to stay silent for longer than five minutes never failing to amuse him. Yet Ruth chose that very moment to say, with a poisonous tongue and bitter eyes, "What else can you expect from a pair of dirty gypsies, stealing from one of their friends?" and they all followed her gaze back to James, who stared back at them for a second, before he caught up with Ruth's words. 

Cal was the first to react, jumping up from his spot on the floor, but it was Eli who replied to her, just a few calm words in Romani that left Ruth flushing with rage. Cal and Eli left shortly afterwards even though it was still tipping down.

It wasn't until a couple of weeks later that James saw Cal again, wandering around the stables. 

He hadn't as much as seen Eli rushing about in the past days. It looked like both travellers were avoiding them, except maybe for Tina, whom James had overheard bickering with Eli during training. It was already dark but Cal saw him coming and grunted a greeting that almost sounded like a warning. He didn't look precisely happy to see him but James offered him a smile nevertheless, and Cal's surly face seemed to falter for a second there. Even though James didn't ask him, the younger boy told him in a rush, as if excusing himself "I'm waiting for Eli to finish his shift but some of the stables were flooded from last night's storm and he's going to take a while."

"Um, would you like to wait at my house? It's just behind that building there", He gestured towards it with a movement of his head but Cal ignored it, settling instead for looking up at him with angry red cheeks and chapped lips bitten raw by the cold wind. He actually looked torn between waiting for Eli in the freezing weather and going somewhere warmer.

James noticed that his scarf was made out of such old material it looked like it could literally disintegrate in his hands. His shoulders were hunched and his head held low to protect himself from the icy wind to the point where his neck was barely visible. And judging by the way he had his hands buried deep in his pockets he probably didn't have any gloves on. 

And despite all that, he still was doubting whether to leave with James or not. The older boy shook his head, astonished. He then reached out and grabbed Cal's wrist and with a swift movement introduced both Cal's and his hands to his coat pocket. Cal tried to shake his grip off for a moment, then he nearly closed his eyes in relief, relisihing the warm fingers tightly clasping his. He blinked, blushed a much healthier shade of red and recipocrated the action.

James felt like he was holding an ice cube in his palm but Cal's embarrassment and shy gratitude were written all over his eyes and trembling chin and James decided not to mention it at all. They walked fast in a rather uncomfortable silence only broken once by Cal to wish him a belated happy birthday without quite meeting his eyes. James looked over at him mildly surprised, wondering how exactly had Cal remembered when he hadn't been around on the actual date. "Thanks, mate."

The older boy let go of Cal's left hand to open the door with a key he fished out of his pocket and after they got inside, James took his coat and shoes off while Cal stayed unmoving in the hall until James asked him to do the same.

The traveller grudgingly proceeded to take his discoloured jacket and sole-ripped shoes off, still by the door and moving extraordinarily slowly, almost as if he expected to run back out in the next ten seconds.  
James sneaked a glance at the younger boy to find that his socks had been worn thin, and even though it was clear they had been mended a thousand times, they still had holes in them, through which some part of his feet were peeking out, too rosy and raw to be comfortable. Cal took the old socks off too and shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

James guided him towards his living room, turned the telly on and passed on the remote to Cal. He left the room claiming he needed the loo.  
His parents would still take a while and his sister was doing homework at a friend's house, that being code for making out with her new boyfriend somewhere, but he should hurry up, just in case, and he went upstairs quickly, taking two steps at a time.

When he returned to the living room, he sat down beside Cal, whose eyes were fixed on the screen, his hair and face tinted orange, and then blue and back to black from the images flicking on the TV. The older boy put the bundle of clothes he'd carried downstairs in the space between them in the sofa. Cal spied him out of the corner of his eye then did a quick double take and his posture changed in a second. He was now sitting on the edge of the sofa and staring at the other boy.

"What are those?" He didn't even let James respond. "I don't need 'em, I'm fine." Cal spat out through gritted teeth and shifted in his spot as if preparing to escape. James couldn't help but think about Baxtalo, the black gypsy stallion.

"You really should change into my clothes and then we could put your clothes on the heater so that when you leave they'll be dry enough for you to put back on."

Cal observed him through his lashes, measuring the lying gorgio beside him with a cautious glare.

"I didn't know I'd have to wait for Eli for so long. I was doing stuff in town and figured we could walk back home together and came here to find he has at least one more hour of work left. I should be already home but I am not, and I've spent too much time outside today, that's why my clothes are damp."

He kept explaining himself like he was in the interrogation room of a police station. But at least that had not been a downright refusal so James settled for not remarking that his clothes were much more than just a bit damp and nodded as if he really was thinking about it and agreed with Cal that this was not his fault and he normally wouldn't need any help whatsoever because he was a perfectly self-sufficient ten-year-old boy.

Cal glanced down at the clothes and bitterly pointed out that "There's too many clothes here."

On seeing the younger boy's frown, the image of Baxtalo running away from his father right when he could almost touch him flashed through James' mind. 

"They are all old clothes so I don't really need them and I didn't know which ones would fit you."

While eyeing him, Cal picked up some clothes randomly and started taking his off. He gingerly put a plaid shirt on and a light brown jumper on top of it only because James insisted. And just when he had picked up a pair of trousers, he stopped short, looked at him. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing." And it sounded just like a horse's fiery and annoyed puff. 

James tried very hard to keep a straight face on. He didn't reply, and threw some dry, thick socks at him instead.

"Just for the record, Eli- we..." he sighed, fiddling with the socks in his hands, then he started out again. "What Ruth said, it's not- we didn't..."

The older boy pretended he didn't hear a thing and slipped into Cal's hands some decent running shoes he remembered he had been sad to put away when he had grown out of them. The he turned around and carefully folded the rest of his old clothes and left them right beside the younger boy, hoping he would understand, hoping he'd seen that some of those clothes were big enough to fit Eli, too. He sat back afterwards, and Cal imitated him. Neither of them made the slightest move to put Cal's ragged clothes on the heater, as promised. They stayed scattered around the wooden floor as the shameful reminder of an awful crime. 

James looked at Cal, whose attention was apparently drawn to the shooting scene showing on the screen. Yet his jaw was set taut, his eyes averted and his fingers nervously tapping his knee.

The gorgio felt the sudden urge to apologise even though he wasn't quite sure what for, when he caught a glimpse of Cal's eyes filled with anguish, confusion making him furrow his forehead in ugly and profound lines. Before he could, though, Cal started talking. 

"Can you not tell them? Not Eli either? I'll just tell him I got these clothes somewhere else?" he swallowed with difficulty then added "It is hard for us, you know, to accept someone's pity..." James made to interrupt and Cal quickly cut him off "...or compassion, if you prefer fancy words. Gypsies aren't supposed to ask for help. That'd be like admitting your own weakness. We're supposed to prove that we can get by on our own effort, and no one else's." he paused as if trying to find the right words or the nerve to keep talking at all. "Our families are the only people we can rely on but your dad won't give my grandpa the money for crossing Baxtalo with his mare until it is done in spring. And I haven't seen my dad for three months." he hushed abruptly, looked up at James. In his eyes there was fear, but he blinked once and it was gone. "So could you not tell them," he paused "please?"

James nodded hastily "I won't."

And Cal nodded at him, too, biting hard on his lips and frowning. James felt like he had just made a vow. And Cal was looking at him like he was angry, and his eyes looked bigger now, bluer and more menacing than James had ever seen them. But it was fine, because James had heard it, had heard all the things the younger boy hadn't said. Cal didn't like to owe anything to anyone and he didn't know yet whether he could trust James.

The older boy felt the smallest sting at this thought but the way the traveller hid his hands under the long sleeves of his new jumper, quietly seeking warmth eased that mild pang.

And it was then that James realised that Cal was nothing like Baxtalo. He was only a foal still.


	2. May

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A prank goes wrong and James learns something new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Lottie for beta-ing this and for putting up with my senseless rambling after I watched the finale.
> 
> Also thanks to everyone leaving kudos and comments, they're very much appreciated!

Growing up, Cal was extremely lanky, with ears almost as big as his head, his limbs sprouting out of his torso like the weak roots of a dying plant. In a fight though, he was fiercer than anyone, scratching and kicking everyone within reach with his short and puny limbs. And if the occasion presented itself, he wouldn't hesitate to bite and spit, too. His dad had taught him, "You have to make up for your tiny body, don't you?"  
Despite this, he was so easily bruised that he always looked the worst after a fight. Eli used to tell him that their mum was the same, had "soft skin". Cal used to want to punch him until he was blue and purple all over.

He hadn't fought with Eli only. During his childhood, he had plenty of honorary older brothers at the camp who would kick him and make him trip and laugh at him and also a couple of honorary big sisters that would pull at his hair and elbow him in the ribs and scream if he didn't do as they commanded. Cal never cried or complained because that made it all so much worse. They jokingly said it was tough love, but Cal only felt pain from the bruises all over his body and the frustation because it seemed like he would never beat them at anything.

Since he wasn't big enough to take the ones bothering him, Cal started to favour words. He took to running when things got nasty, took to sneaking around and paying attention and using words against people rather than punches. That saying "Brick and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you", it was all wrong. Words were powerful, and they did the trick perfectly fine in a conservative gypsy community. 

He got better with words, and he grew a few inches taller one summer and that was it. Everyone stopped annoying him, everyone but Eli, of course. But Cal suspected he was more about love than he was toughness anyway, so it was mostly okay.

Cal had learnt a while ago to fight, even if you had to find your own way to do it. That's why James made him so angry. He didn't ever respond to anyone's teasing, not even to Cal's, who intentionally made his comments harsher, hoping he would finally snap and put up a fight. But he never did, he just lowered his head, sometimes laughed awkwardly at a mean comment and that was it. And they weren't even the worst, even if Rob pushed his buttons all the time and told the rest of the gang about James crying over some film about Nazis they had watched in their History class, or Annie's laughing when he messed up when they played cards or Ruth's irritation because James was always too quiet.

Because at the end of the day, Annie still knitted some multicoloured gloves for him even though it was too hot to use them, Rob still picked him first for his team despite the fact that he usually was the reason why they lost, and Ruth still asked him for help with her English homework and repaid him with chocolate bars that Rob and Tina kept nicking.

No, they weren't the worst. But Cal knew there were more bullies at his school, people who picked on him for real and Tina told him they were older guys who walked around like they owned the place and scared the younger children and had one of those knuckle things, she had thrown a enquiring look at Rob who had absent-mindedly supplied "American Fist". They had quickly changed the subject when James had come back from the bathroom.

James didn't look any different at a first glance, but he flinched sometimes now when someone said his name, was even quieter than usual and forgetful. Cal realised James wasn't the kind of person -like he was- that toughened when things got hard, he just retreated into himself.

That's why he'd dragged James with him that day, made him his accomplice against his will. And that's how they had ended up hiding in the kitchen at Tina's house after entering through the yard door which Cal had instructed a very sceptical Eli to leave open without anyone knowing.

"This is a bad idea" said James for the hundreth time while watching the kitchen door.

"No, it's not, it's an April Fool's joke" whispered Cal digging into his backpack for something.

Cal didn't know what he was moaning about, really. The best prank he had come up with probably in his entire life, James had refused categorically to do. Why James didn't want to lay in a puddle of ketchup and play dead and have the rest think Cal had murdered him, the gypsy didn't know.

"But it's not even April, Cal" he weakly protested with fidgety hands, accepting what Cal was giving him.

"And that's why they won't be expecting it!" the younger boy responded putting his black ski mask on and grabbing a kitchen knife from the counter, leaving the bat for James to carry.

There was no way this could go wrong. And James needed this, he looked like someone had punched every puppy he had laid eyes on in his life so it was also for a good cause. It was a great plan. There was absolutely no way this could go wrong.

But it did.

It turned out that Rob was going downstairs at the same time they were going up. Rob, on seeing them, had stopped in his tracks, emitted a little scream and had knocked Cal down before James took his mask off with one hand while stopping Cal from rolling down the stairs with the other, and yelled at him it was a joke.

By the time Tina, Eli, Annie and Ruth got to the hallway, James was trying to pull Cal back to his feet after he had slipped out of James' hold and back to one of the steps of the stairs. "What the fuck?" Cal heard Rob say, but he was still a bit out of it. 

On his way down, he had hit his head on a framed picture on the wall and his temple was throbbing now. He couldn't see very clearly, the edge of his vision blurred, but he could hear Rob complaining about how stupid they were and then James, who was still trying to shake Cal back to reality, said "Shut up." He sounded pretty annoyed, and Rob did shut his mouth at his tone. For her part, Tina sent him a surprised look and burst out laughing.

As James, with Annie on his heels, guided Cal to the kitchen, the younger boy could only make out Tina's cry "Caleb Bray I knew you were a fuckwit but you James, you've let me down!" and kept on laughing her head off. 

Later on, when they all were in Tina's room and they had decided that was the most stupid prank ever and Cal had protested it was all James' fault, though he most decidely did not pout -no matter what Ruth said-, James approached the younger boy, bearing a bag of frozen peas which he offered him.

"It's weird, I only found out today that your full name is Caleb."

The traveller looked up at him while pressing the cold bag to his head.

"What did you think Cal was short for? Or did you think that was it, that's what it says on my birth certificate? Just Cal?"

The younger boy knew he was being quite snappish but he couldn't care less, he had an awful headache and Rob had a smug face on that made him look even dumber than usual, it was like he thought he had just actually protected everyone from two real burglars and everyone owed him their life.

"I don't know, I thought it was maybe Callum or Calvin" the other boy said, running his hand over his light hair. "I like Caleb best, though."

Cal might have learnt how to deal with insults and threats a while ago, but compliments, even if directed at something so meaningless as his name still caught him out off-guard so he just responded, without even thinking it through. "You are such a twat, do I look like a Calvin to you? That's the most ridicoulous name I've ever heard."

He regretted it the instant it came out of his mouth, and he was half expecting James would get watery eyes and run off but the older boy just rolled his eyes and said "Goodness' sake, you are way too grumpy today, Caleb." He pretended to coo. "Do you think maybe you need to go to sleep? After all it's past your bed time, isn't it?."

Annie, who had heard him over Ruth and Tina arguing what film they should watch, sniggered at James' words while Cal gave him a dark look, even though what he really felt was surprise. Immediately after James had said that, he passed him a paracetamol he had found in the bathroom's cabinet, and a glass of water.

Cal tried hard not to join in with Annie's giggles when he then proceeded to plump up a cushion for him.


	3. July

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A certain traveller girl comes into play and jealousy ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta Lottie, and to everyone commenting and leaving kudos!

Cal and Eli never went to school. They learnt how to write and read, in both English and Romani and some Maths from his grandpa and that was mostly it.

 

Some kids from the camp, though, like Tom, Clarey and Myrah, who were a bit older than him did go to school. Not every day of every week, but still enough so that they knew much more than him.

It bugged Cal. He had learnt to love words, and maybe reading bored him a bit but he still loved to look over Annie's Science book when she was doing homework.

He was a bit jealous of these Romani kids, going to school and brushing shoulders with James and Tina and Annie in the hallways. They knew more about what was under his ribcage than he did. That was not right. 

But everything fell back into place once the summer holidays came around. Now that classes were over, they were all back to being where they belonged.

However, right now, at half past nine on a Thursday, and right here, in a field bordering on the woods, a car -probably stolen by one of the older travellers- was playing shitty music at full volume with all the doors wide open. Someone sitting in the passanger seat was selling very overpriced alcohol to whoever had enough money. Some old lanterns hung on the nearby trees and the car's headlights were on.  
Here, it was Tina, Rob, Annie and James who did not belong. Even Ruth, who, blushed cheeks and excited voice, had greeted them in Romani was being frowned and scowled upon.

Someone had protested when they saw them dismounting their bikes at the entrance and leaving them leaning against the fence.

"No gorgios here, Cal. We told you" that was Benny talking in Romani, shoulders like a rugby player's, while he approached them.

"This one here," Cal had responded also in their mother tongue, defiant and pointing subtly at James "his parents own these fields, and if you don't want him calling them and telling them that someone's having a party..."

James, blue eyes wide open, had stayed silent, only because he hadn't understood a word. Had Cal spoken in English he would have probably made a face that would be as good as if he had shouted in that instant that these weren't really his parents' fields and he didn't even own a phone. As it was, the gypsy guy looked at him then back at Cal.

"If you spend more time with them you'll become a gorgio yourself." He spat on the floor, pointedly near Ruth's shoes, then added. "Be careful not to forget who you are."

Taking that as a welcome, Cal looked over his shoulders and winked at Tina, who gave him a kiss on the cheek before making a beeline, along with Rob and a suddenly taciturn Ruth, for the guy selling vodka.

For her part, Annie dragged James to the front of the car. The powerful headlights blinded the boy for a moment, and Annie started jumping up and down with a careless laugh. She grabbed James' hand next and lead him in a dance that resembled a waltz with some intertwined hip hop moves. James was red to the tip of his ears and he looked embarrassed. He had no sense of rythm whatsoever and was a terrible dancer, so much so, that it was almost endearing when he accidentally stepped on Annie and apologised profusely. But the girl didn't even flinch and held him firmly in place, then forced him to twirl. Some people were laughing at them and some others joined them in the nonexistent dancing floor, moving as well as they could in the knee-lenght alfalfa.

There was that smell in the air and Cal breathed in deeply, hoping he could keep it in his lungs forever. It smelled like a warm night sleeping outside, like grass that's been toasted and turned yellow after days under the blazing sun, it smelled like drinking cider in front of a bonfire, like sweat from running through the fields with bare feet and like diving in the freezing river. It smelled like he imagined the stars smelled like, shining bright up above and fencing with the almighty moon to see which would be most compelling to the poets gazing at the nightsky and writing verses about them.

Someone popped up beside him and startled him out of his thoughts. It was Clarey, who had a very short dress on and her long hair brushed back in a ponytail. She intertwined their arms, and then asked good-naturedly "How is it going, Cal?", her voice was like honey and the boy narrowed his eyes, wondering what she wanted from him. 

He muttered a short "Hi" in response and kept his eyes fixed in front of him. Rob and Tina had been reunited with Annie and James -while Ruth was nowhere to be seen- and they were all sharing sips from the bottle they were passing back and forth. Clarey followed his gaze and admitted "That's what I came to talk you about, really. Your friend is so cute". 

Cal looked at James, who was laughing shyly at something Tina had said and then locked eyes with the gypsy girl. 

"I know him from school, you know... He doesn't go to any of my classes but...". She blushed prettily and Cal felt the sudden urge to slap her accross the face to give her cheeks a legitimate reason to turn red.

"What will your father say if he heard you?" spat Cal and the girl beside him turned white, she let go of his arm and a offered him a twisted smile.

"Look at little Cal." She laughed bright and tightly. "You never liked to share, did you?"

Myrah appeared behind her, a worried look in her face, and tugged at her hand but the other girl jerked her arm away and said "But what would your father say if he saw you with all those gorgio friends of yours?"

She left after that, and Myrah threw a trembling smile and a wave of her hand his way before following her friend's steps to the guy selling booze, and just in time, because the rest of the gang approached him, half of the bottle already gone. Cal stretched out an arm for it but Rob held it out of his reach, "Eli would kill me!" he said, faux concern in his voice.

"Fuck off" was Cal's response and Rob laughed at him, showing his uneven teeth and handed over the vodka. Cal drowned a big gulp that made his guts burn and his eyes water. And Tina quickly took the bottle away from him, her cautious look echoed on James' face, which was wearing a frown. Cal wished he had never brought them here and wondered whether it was too late to have Benny throw them out. Sensing the shift in the young gypsy's eyes, Tina changed the subject.

"I think I know that girl you just were talking to, doesn't she go to school with us?" she asked, while Rob volunteered to go and dance with Annie and guided her near the car, where the music was louder. James sent his friend a grateful smile and sat on the grass. Cal sat beside him, keeping an eye for Clarey, who had vanished. Tina mimicked them and reluctantly allowed Cal to take another sip from the bottle. 

"Yeah, her name's Clarey, isn't it?" and Cal turned to look at James, who had spoken. He was absent-mindedly picking at his trousers that were stained from working earlier at the stables when he added "She sometimes sits with us in Assembly" His cheeks were flushed but Cal told himself it was the alcohol. 

Sometime later, it was only him and Tina and and the long-ago finished bottle of vodka left. Rob had bought some more beer but he, James and Annie had disappeared with it a while ago.

Ruth had left after an hour. She had approached to say her goodbyes, some travellers behind her had started to whistle and encourage her with nasty Romani words to leave. So she had hurried back to where her bike was, got on it and pedalled away, the weak dynamo light on her bike finally disappearing when she turned a curve.

Now both Cal and Tina were on their backs, Tina obviously much more pissed than he was since no one would take him seriously and let him as much as sniff the drink. Which was stupid. But also maybe not because they were supposed to get back home at some point. Everyone had lied to be there, claiming they were having a sleepover in someone else's house or had sneaked out after pretending to go to bed. Either way, someone had to be sober enough to guide them back.

Cal had wanted to leave for a while now. Tina was talking about Rob being a prat but at the same time being quite cute when he laughed and the traveller boy had had enough. He needed to find the rest or at least get away from Tina's contented sighs and drunken giggles. So he made her sit up, slowly told her to stay right where she was because he'd be back in a minute, and got moving. No one was around the car, the same awful music still blasting from it, and before he decided which direction to take, Myrah came running to meet him. "Have you seen Clarey?" Cal was about to shrug her off when she added, "She left a while ago with one of your friends and I haven't seen her since.".

The tiniest warmth in his stomach from the very little alcohol he'd drunk froze at those words. He turned to march into the woods bordering on the field. Myrah followed close behind, telling him how worried she was, how Clarey had the biggest crush on his friend, how she was afraid she'd do someting stupid. Cal remained quiet and after a while, he tuned her voice out.

For some reason, he couldn't picture James making out with Clarey, maybe because the dark blond still stumbled and struggled with words when talking to Annie, whom he had known since they were in nappies.

But that didn't stop him from halting abruptly, somewhat agitated when he heard a faint feminine laugh not too far away. Cal didn't know why, but the first thing that came to his mind was the so dreaded resignation. Yes, James was with Clarey after all, and she had probably told him how Cal had been awful to her earlier and James would probably never want to speak to him again. His head was spinning and his stomach revolted and maybe he had drunk more than he should.

He approached the sound warily and could make two figures a bit further into the woods. One of them, a girl, was sitting with her back against a tree trunk. The other was lying on the grass, with his head on the girl's lap.

And before he could get any nearer, he heard Annie's voice. "Is that you, Cal? Thank god, he gets so clingy when he's sleepy, I swear." Annie laughed some more, obviously amused and she did drag the words a bit but she seemed lucid enough. Cal moved forward and found James, half asleep on Annie's lap, his hair scruffy and sticking in every possible direction. He was holding onto Annie's calves with one arm and the other he used as a pillow. His cheeks were still the pinkiest colour even in the darkness of the woods.

Cal let go of the breath he hadn't realised he was holding.

And Myrah, who the traveller boy had forgotten was with him, released an anguished sigh. "Where is she?" she muttered and right on cue, as if they had been the main characters in a carefully planned play, someone's shouts filled the air in response.

After listening for a second, Cal made out Tina's voice, and then came Rob's and every piece of the puzzle was laid in the right place. And Cal realised, trying not to smile too big, that Clarey had never mentioned a name.

Cal helped James get up so Annie could also stand up and they both shook the sleepy boy completely awake. They then followed the yelling voices, James constantly tripping over his own feet and leaning against Annie and Cal for support. The younger boy almost wanted to laugh at what a light-weight he was.

They finally found Rob and Tina, who were arguing at the top of their lungs. Clarey was there too and she looked embarrased and hurt and Myrah, who had got there sooner, was trying to calm her down.

"We've been together for almost two months now and you start snogging someone else right under my nose?!" was Tina yelling.

Cal wondered why Rob wasn't defending himself since anyone who knew Rob agreed that he had a gift for dodging an issue. 

However, after a more thorough look at Clarey, it became aparent why he was looking at Tina with fear. The traveller girl's slightly puffy lips could have been a slight if weak clue, but the big hickey in her neck that was turning redder by the second, was a definite hint that they had just been doing something other than friendly chatting.

"You never said we were going out! I thought you just liked to snog me from time to time?" came Rob's confused and weak protest.

Cal rolled his eyes. That was so typical of Rob. Everyone knew they were going out except for him. A bit further away, Clarey burst out crying and Myrah made a quick retreat before Tina noticed their presence and launched herself against the traveller girl. Fortunately for them, Tina was too busy yelling at the boy in front of her to even notice.

James, still half asleep, made a whiny little noise at her high-pitched shrieks. Annie patted his head sympatheticly even though he was several inches taller. "I think we should call it a night, eh?" she asked at no one in particular and flinched when Rob started shouting back at Tina, "Well you could have told me!"


	4. December

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and Cal have a fight, except for the fact that Cal won't fight back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos to Lottie for the great betaing! :P And to everyone who's commented, thank you very much :)

Cal had been around enough now to know exactly how James reacted to whatever Rob got his hands on. Alcohol and weed, that one time Rob had insisted he tried it, made him sleepy and giggly most of the time but if he mixed things up, or drank too much that's when he became quiet, reckless and dangerously stubborn, often snapping harshly at anyone who got in his way.

They always laughed it off, once they sobered up and James always looked extremely apologetic but when it happened, everyone was shocked, Annie sometimes scared, at how different this James was.

That's why when Cal came one evening to visit the mare that Baxtalo had impregnated in the spring and found James on his way home, he could instantly tell he'd been up to something.

After the younger boy talked him into going with him to see the mare, because going home when he was so obviously high, was probably not the wisest move, James confirmed Cal's guess and told him that "Rob brought these..." he kept gesticulating with his hands and trying to form some kind of tiny object with his fingers before, head springing up from its previous hunched position finally said "...painkillers! Yeah, that's it! I think he stole them from his mum or something. The thing is they weren't really good for me? I threw up a bit but it's the only day his parents weren't home and a Friday, too, so we had to make the most of it, they kept telling me we needed to make the most of it, right? So they gave me this weird smelling drink. It didn't taste nice but I didn't throw it up so I think we can count it a win?" he giggled and then stopped short and frowned, "I don't think I like this, it feels like..." he stared into space, and Cal towed him forward, afraid someone would spot them. James let the smaller boy drag him several metres before he jerked his arm away. "Oi" he mumbled, clumsy outrage in his voice "I can walk by myself!"

Cal was about to reply to him with a snarl, then thought better of it and tried to modulate his tone into a urgent one, "Come on, James, we'll be late".

And he kept on walking, James trailing briskly after him. He could hardly bear the uneasy feeling in his stomach. A bitter thought formed in his mind, why was it that the same scheme he used to rush his father inside when he went on one of his drinking sprees, was the same one that worked on James?

They finally reached the fenced plot. The mare inside it was sporting a medium bump and Cal distracted himself by looking at it and trying to get her to come near by stretching out a handful of oats he had nicked from an opened sack he'd come across on his way there. 

The gravid mare approached leerily and breathed out on top of Cal's hand once, and just at that moment James started climbing the fence and the mare was shooed away by the sudden movement. Cal clicked his tongue and looked at James with a frown. He climbed up clumsily and sat on top of the fence. 

He wasn't surprised that he hadn't been invited with the rest of them, mainly because it had been Rob who had invited them all over, and they still weren't in the besties zone. However, he was surprised that James had been so stupid to take whatever his friend put under his nose. He climbed the metal fence, his eyes stinging when he grabbed onto the frosty bar and sat beside James. 

It was some days before Christmas, the freezing wind cutting their cheeks, and James started to protest that this was his spot, why did Cal have to go and sit in his spot? And the words formed white and warm condensation clouds that lingered a second by James' mouth and then vanished and Cal focused on that rather on the stupid things his companion was saying. "There's room for both, yeah?" he said, aloof.

Luckily, it seemed like it had been a while since James had taken whatever shite he had taken because even though he was jumpy he wasn't the idiotic moron he became right after the booze made its way up and fogged his mind.

Maybe a half-hour and he would be sober enough to return home. Cal blew some warm air into his hands and hoped they wouldn't get hypothermia for this. He started talking just take off his mind off that thought, without even thinking about what he was saying.

"Your father is around the camp a lot now, he was there just yesterday with my grandpa... Do you reckon they are talking about Baxtalo? Maybe he wants to buy it?" and that would be great because he didn't know anything about horses but he was sure his grandpa's stallion was worth good money. His grandpa would put up a fight as well, because he loved that animal, so maybe they could get an even higher price...

"That's where he has been, huh" said James, a bitter tone to his voice, "So what is it then? Is there a gypsy woman? A whore? What is he spending all our money on?" his words and the setting of his jaw implying his arsehole self was still there.

Cal looked over at him. And he was getting really angry now, this time for real, but he couldn't bring himself to shove James off the fence -which was what he really deserved- and maybe it had something to do with the fact that he thought he could see a tear peeking out of his left eye and the even more compromising fact that he was wearing, at that very moment, one of the jumpers that James had given him almost a year ago. 

"Gypsies are more than whores, fortune-tellers and thieves, you know."

And he was really trying for an easy-going tone but James must have picked up on the lingering sourness in his words because he turned to him, eyes as red as his face.

"Yeah, right. I'm sure you're going to be an astronaut when you grow up, eh? And Eli will be running for Prime Minister" he responded, hatred in every single syllabe. He paused a minute and then he yelled "Just fucking tell me!!!" and the shout startled Cal who stared at him for a while, his ears were ringing, and he was about to punch him in the face when James burst out crying and he was shaking so much that Cal feared he would fall off the fence and onto his back so he held him in place, placing a hand between his shoulder blades. What he definitely didn't expect was James leaning into him slightly but he pretended he didn't care. He was trying to say something but between the sobs and sighs, it took Cal a while to understand his words "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Cal, I'm sorry."

The younger boy looked up to see the mare in the lot, standing as far as possible from them and looking at the both of them with wide brown eyes, ears sticking up at the ugly sound of James' sobbing and very still in the cold evening.

Cal wanted to laugh, as he wondered what in the world was going through her mind, if she could even form thoughts and again, without really filtering his words he talked. "My grandpa runs the gambling in the camp. You know, bets on football or races, poker..."

James looked at him and nodded, swallowed audibly and nodded some more. He still seemed out of it but he had sobered up significantly. Cal kept talking, partly because a twisted side of him wanted revenge for all he had said, though that part recoiled and left, ashamed, when James held on to his knees and released a shaky breath, trying to collect himself. "I hadn't really thought about it until now, but he's been wandering around since the summer. I just realised now because he's been coming more and more often, you know? And I just assumed the whole time he was there about Baxtalo..." he was a bit upset for not having realised before. 

The cold wind stung his skin and James stayed silent for a very long time and when he did speak, it was to apologise again. "I'm so sorry Cal, about what I said...I-I figured it was gambling really, he takes it up from time to time, I don't know why I said that, Cal, I'm so-"

And finally, finally, their roles where reversed again, and Cal said, relief waving over him and finding, rather surprised, that he wasn't even angry anymore "Shut up, you weirdo" and if James heard in his voice the affection Cal had not intended his words to be imbued with, he didn't say a thing. 

He didn't object either to Cal's arm on his shoulder and they only climbed down from the fence when light snow started falling, stinging the two boys' skin with a feverish cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for part 3 of the series!


End file.
